


make believe

by hexicity



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Babysitter Magnus, Extremely Imaginative Ten Year Olds, Gen, kid AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-23
Updated: 2017-06-23
Packaged: 2018-11-17 23:36:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11279133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hexicity/pseuds/hexicity
Summary: Magnus isn't sure how long the kids have had their fictional world of demon killers and vampires, but he was inducted pretty soon after becoming the Lightwoods' regular babysitter. After a few cheap magic tricks he was dubbed a warlock, and now he watches the story unfold.





	make believe

Magnus wishes he was being paid per child, not per hour. 

In all honesty the Lightwoods are very fair with their wages. He’s making above minimum wage, which is good for a fourteen year old on their second ever babysitting job. However, the job description had included watching one ten old and one eight year old, which would be Alec and Isabelle. 

Instead he has the entire street in the living room. There’s Clary and Simon, who are both nine years old and attached at the hip, and there’s Jace, the ten year old from next door who basically lives with the Lightwoods. It’s really not that big of a difference with the added children. He just makes a bigger serving of mac and cheese. 

“No, the Shadowhunters aren’t all bad.” Jace is saying as Magnus enters from the kitchen. He’s gesturing widely over the ottoman, where they’re all gathered in what seems to be a passionate discussion. “It’s just that the--the people who are in charge are mean, so they want us to do bad things.”

“Like what?” Clary asks, looking concerned. 

“Like,” Jace pauses to search for an example, “like how that new girl was really nice until she made friends with _Camille.”_

Magnus doesn’t know much about Camille, considering the fact that he does not attend St. Xavier’s Intermediate School. However, he does know that she’s a big enough of a bully for the kids to have made her into a villain in their storyline. He isn't sure how long the kids have had their fictional world of demon killers and vampires, but he was inducted pretty soon after becoming the Lightwoods' regular babysitter. After a few cheap magic tricks he was dubbed a warlock, and now he watches the story unfold.

“Dinner time.” Magnus interrupts the chorus of hatred for Camille by setting the macaroni dish on the coffee table. He watches the kids each dig into their meal, surprised when there’s still a chunk left. He checks each kid until he notices that Simon is sitting with what can only be one spoonful of macaroni in his bowl, which he isn’t touching. “Simon, what’s wrong? Did you already eat before?”

“I’m not hungry.” Simon shrugs. 

“Magnus,” Clary sighs as if she can’t believe she has to explain this again, “he’s a vampire. He can only drink blood.”

Magnus knows that these kids are old enough to differentiate fiction from reality. He’s not sure, but he thinks their game might be a sort of way to cope. They turn their bullies into villains and give themselves powers. Rather than talking about their problems directly, they make up their own language to sort through things. It’s actually incredibly mature. 

Or maybe he’s reading into it too much. After all, they’re ten. 

“Well Simon, if there’s anything you want to uh, drink? Just let me know, okay?”

“Yeah.” Simon nods, immediately turning to Jace. “Keep going.”

Magnus half-listens as Jace explains what seems to be an allegory for modern day discrimination. He’s texting Catarina about the geometry homework that he hasn’t even attempted yet when he hears a muffled sneeze from the group.

“Hey.” He sits up and tosses his phone aside. “Who was that?”

“Simon.” Alec reports immediately. 

“Come here, bud.” Magnus reaches down to pull Simon onto the sofa. Simon looks less than pleased to be taken from the group, especially in the middle of Jace’s speech, but his pouty expression is ruined by another sneeze. “Bless you. You feel alright?”

“I think I’m kinda getting sick maybe. Because Becky is sick too an--ah-- _achoo!”_ Simon ducks his head to cover. He pushes his glasses back up on his small face with a weak sniffle and Magnus smiles. Magnus adores all the kids, but he admittedly has a soft spot for Simon and his fawn-like innocence. He also knows that kids spread germs insanely fast, and he’ll be out of a job for a few days if they’re all infected. 

“I bet you’d feel better in a nice warm bed, huh?” Magnus asks, and Simon’s eyelids immediately flutter as if he’s minutes away from falling asleep. “Let’s go.”

“Wait!” Isabelle protests, yanking hard enough on Magnus’ pant leg that he nearly stumbles. “We can’t play without Simon.”

“Well,” Magnus sighs and tries to come up with a valid point within the confines of the game, “Simon is a vampire, so he needs to go hide from the sun.”

“No he can be in the sun.” Jace speaks up suddenly, his arms crossed defiantly across his chest. “He’s a...day...light...er.”

“In my thousands of years of warlock experience, I’ve never heard of that.” Magnus retorts, stepping in front of Simon as he coughs without covering his mouth. “The sun is making Simon very tired and he needs to rest.”

“But it’s cloudy.” Jace argues. He sticks his tongue out when Magnus fails to retort, and he’s tempted to use the time-out chair for the first time ever.

“Okay.” Magnus huffs and resigns himself to joining the kids on the floor. His knee touches Alec’s and he smiles as the kid inches just a tiny bit closer, another bit of proof of the tiny crush that Isabelle insists her brother has on Magnus. Maybe when he’s ten years older. “Listen, Simon has been attacked by a uh, a demon.”

A gasp ripples through the group and Jace looks even unhappier. 

“Is he gonna die?” Isabelle asks, sounding more curious than worried. 

“No.” Magnus stands up and reaches for Simon, who looks genuinely disinterested by his own apparent demonic injury. He picks the kid up and carries him to the kitchen, the rest of the group trailing close behind. Magnus sets Simon on the counter and rummages through the cabinet beside the fridge until he finds a bottle of children’s Tylenol. He raises it above his head triumphantly. “I have a potion.”

“What’s in it?” Alec wants to know. 

“Some mermaid scales and unicorn hair.” Magnus murmurs as he focuses on measuring the right amount of purplish liquid into the tiny plastic cap. 

“Unicorns don’t exist.” Jace grumbles. 

“Simon, you have to take this potion before the demon poison gets to your heart.” Magnus instructs, handing over the cap. “It’ll taste bad, but that’s only because of, you know, the magic.”

Simon downs the medicine and smiles happily as his friends cheer. The enjoyment seems to pass after a few seconds when Simon yawns and rubs at his pink button nose with the sleeve of his sweater. He holds his arms out to Magnus and immediately drops his head against Magnus’ shoulder once he’s picked up. 

“Now he needs to sleep it off, okay?” Magnus addresses the group. “Keep playing and find the demon that did this to him.”

That seems to satisfy the group. Even Jace, who spares another glance at Simon before returning reluctantly to the living room. Magnus quickly carries Simon into the guest room and situates him in bed. 

“That was cool.” Simon mumbles sleepily as Magnus makes sure the duvet is securely tucked around him. “How you made it seem like the game.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Magnus says with an affronted hand against his chest. “As the High Warlock, I would never do something as silly as pretend. Now sleep off the rest of that demon poison, brave vampire.”

Simon smiles and settles against his pillow. “Make sure they kill the demon.”

“I’ll see to it.” Magnus tells him, leaning down to ruffle Simon’s curls. He shuts off the lights and heads back to the living room, where the kids are attacking a mound of pillows that apparently depicts the demon. “Hey, let’s kill the beast quietly so Simon can nap, okay?”

“Alec, draw the quiet rune on me.” Jace tells his brother. Magnus watches Alec scribble a couple of lines on Jace’s arm with a pink washable marker before they return to quietly pouncing on the pillows. Magnus goes back to texting Cat, who doesn’t understand why he genuinely likes his babysitting job. 

Of course other people wouldn’t understand. Most people don’t get to babysit demon hunters.

**Author's Note:**

> This is all thanks to my friend Em on Tumblr (@creativeclary) who came up with this adorable story idea that will hopefully become something bigger!! Also this is free of ships, bc they're kiddos. Real tiny. 
> 
> If you wanna talk, my tumblr is @simonlewhiss


End file.
